Eidos Montreal has confirmed that the latest title in the Thief series is currently "in the early development stages." "This is an incredibly ambitious project and a very exciting one," said General Manager Stephane D'Astous. "It's too early for us to offer any specific game details, right now we are focused on recruiting the very best talent to join the core team at the studio and help us make, what we believe will be one of the most exciting games on the market."

2K Games has teamed up with Digital Extremes to develop a "multiplayer experience" for BioShock 2. The game will provide an immersive prequel experience while expanding the origins of the BioShock world.

Apple has finally approved the sale of a controversial Nine Inch Nails app. The company had initially rejected the revised application due to "objectionable content" which was reportedly linked to "The Downward Spiral" song. However, version 1.0.3 of "NIN: Access" remains unaltered despite the company's concerns.

A report by the NPD Group indicates that Blu-ray video technology has moved "further into the mainstream." Indeed, first quarter (Q1) sales of stand-alone Blu-ray players in the US increased by 72 percent to over 400,000 units. Meanwhile, the average selling price (ASP) for a stand-alone BD player decreased by 34 percent - from $393 in Q1 2008 to $261 in Q1 2009.

Activision has confirmed plans to release three new titles in the fall of 2009: Guitar Hero 5, DJ Hero and Band Hero.
GH5 will give players an "unprecedented level of control over the way they play the game with the ability to drop in and out of songs and change band members, instruments and difficulty levels on the fly," the company explained in a statement.

In tragic news received today, Duke Nukem, the cigar-chomping hero who has been promising to return to give bad guys two (or more) in the hat for over a decade, looks to be going into enforced retirement.

An outraged Trent Reznor has criticized Apple for rejecting a Nine Inch Nails (NIN) application due to "objectionable" content. According to the company, potential applications must not contain any "obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind" that may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod touch users.

A senior Xbox executive has reportedly left Microsoft to join Apple. Richard Teversham Teversham apparently played a criticial role in developing the
Microsoft Xbox and Xbox Online video game brands in Europe. He is also
on the Board of the ISFE (International Software Federation for Europe)
which manages the PEGI age ratings for games and promotes gaming across
the continent.

The Walt Disney Company has confirmed that it will become a joint venture partner and equity owner of Hulu. The agreement is expected to "enhance" Hulu's programming line-up with Disney content, including series such as Lost, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty and Scrubs.